


Time in a Bottle

by Logoht



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: AU, Angst, Hope, M/M, Magic, Mediwizard, gen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-27
Updated: 2014-10-26
Packaged: 2018-02-22 19:11:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2518703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Logoht/pseuds/Logoht
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry Potter had a dream, a dream to be himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time in a Bottle

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit of a rambling story. In the beginning of each chapter, there will be a song that will be the theme for that particular chapter. As for the story itself, I got the idea and the motivation, as usually, from music, this time from Jim Croce's Time in a Bottle. I hope you enjoy this new story of mine.

Harry Potter had a dream, a dream to be himself. He was laying on his cupboard, listening to the spiders skittering around and staring at the dark ceiling, only illuminated by the cracks of the door that let a hint of light from the hallway into his cupboard. Harry was rather small for his five young years, dressed into his cousin's cast offs that were far too big for his small frame. Black rimmed round glasses that were a bit big and the prescription slightly off for him, usually framed his delicate face and hid his features from view rather effectively. Had he gotten the chance to get his eyes fixed or just different glasses, his high breeding - high cheekbones and aristocratic features - would have been easily noticed. Had he been well clothed and taken care of, most would have described him as a beautiful child indeed. The only thing marring his beauty was the lightning bolt scar on his forehead, that his Aunt and Uncle so helpfully had told him, had came from a car accident, while his parents had been drunk driving, endangering countless of people with their irresponsible behavior.   
  
Now for his mere five years, Harry Potter was a rather smart child. He had slowly learned to read, having eavesdropped when Aunt Petunia had read to Dudley and committing the words to memory, and when the opportunity had came, he had stolen the books that had been read, as Dudley hardly had any patience nor interest towards stories or the magic that came from books. Slowly he had learned the letters and had started to read. It had taken such a long time, but to Harry, it had been worth the effort.   
  
It was a lot later however when he learned other skills, like rudimentary mathematics and other such things, that he truly started to appreciate his skill in reading. Petunia and Vernon had had no choice but to put him as well into a daycare, as Petunia wanted to take care of Dudley alone and the public daycare kept Harry out of the way easily enough. However what effect that had on him, was that he learned. Numbers, more letters and more words. In daycare he was teased by the other children for his second hand clothes and his glasses and the messy hair, however he learned how cruel children could be along with how to manipulate adults into his side. He was studious, quiet and well-behaved child after all and no one could believe a five-year-old of being a criminal or anything of the likes, with his behavior at least.   
  
The caretakers in the daycare all treated him with mostly indifference. He didn't make messes, obeyed their commands silently and stayed out of the way. Therefore he was left to his own devices, the caretakers ignoring him as he rarely, if ever, caused any trouble and were glad to not having to care either.   
  
When Harry and Dudley started school things changed very quickly however. Petunia and Vernon had bought him one set of clothes and had given him the smallest bedroom with Dudley's cast off things. These included books, broken toys and the likes, and Harry cherished every single one of them. In school, he performed well, not that he flaunted what he knew of course, however he enjoyed learning and had quickly learned that the school library and later on the public library discouraged bullies, which meant that in those places, he was safe.   
  
Most people by then had learned or just didn't care enough to not ignore him. He was invisible, nearly silent and always so polite. This was very deceptive however. He stole, food, money and what ever he could get his hands on really. Mostly it was to survive, as the Dursleys cared even less of him than his teachers and other adults around, and therefore getting his own necessities was paramount. He learned his lessons well and by the time he was 9, he had been moved up a year in his school, was sporting oval silver rimmed glasses and a lot better clothing than before.   
  
His teachers hardly paid attention to him, knowing that he was studious and therefore ignoring him in favor of the troublemakers, like Dudley. This changed when Dudley had accused him of pushing another student down the stairs, who had in fact broken his leg in the fall. Said boy had been too much in pain to argue, and had been uncertain of who had done it in the first place and also knew that if he didn't go with what Dudley said, he'd be the prime target for bullying and therefore gave in to Harry's cousin.   
  
It made the teachers finally pay attention to him. And not in the good way either. The beating he had received at home from Vernon and his leather belt had been spectacular and finally his cool mask had cracked. How he hated his so called family. It made him absolutely furious but he dared not argue against them, not verbally at least.   
  
The resulting visit to the ER and the lies about him being a clutch and falling down the stairs, however had made his dream known to him. Unlike Voldemort, who had dedicated himself to destroying those that had tried to harm him and reform things and people, Harry looked around in the clinical hospital, and felt oddly at home. He was a smart child and of course, wanted to know everything about everything in there.  
  
"Can you tell me what that machine does, sir?" He asked politely, sitting on the bed and pointing at the heart monitor. The man, doctor Andrews, smiled and nodded just a hint, marking a few more things into the chart in his hand. "Of course, lad. It's a heart monitor. When you put the stickers - you see them? Those small white patches? - on the right spots in a patient, it starts beeping and shows us how the heart beats. It's a rather ingenious invention and makes my work easier." Doctor Andrews smiled while he explained, his manner calm and warm.   
  
At that moment, Harry had decided that he wanted to be like this man. He wanted to help people and wanted to heal, fix, repair, the mind and the body and he made a small vow to himself that when he was at Andrews' position he'd never let anyone's family to do the same to them as had been done to himself. He swore it with a steely look in his eyes and with conviction. He'd be a doctor, even if it killed him.

**Author's Note:**

> This story will likely be very very very long. It's mostly going to be descriptive, with not much talking involved. I try and make the chapters as long as I can, but as always, my muses are extremely fickle. In any case, I hope you enjoy the story :)


End file.
